Back in the day when the Indiana Jones movies were on every Christmas (what do you mean they still, are?) I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time as a kid and being enthralled.
I watched the gameplay reveal of Lucasarts/Bethesda/MachineGames at the Xbox Developer Direct and was transported back to that Christmas childhood once again. Grandparents sat around, Mattel Intellivision temporarily turned off.
For two and a half minutes this was everything I have ever wanted from an Indy game. I remember the point-and-click Fate of Atlantis absorbing me as well – that was a game where you needed to buy a second sound card (a Roland MIDI device) for your early PC to get the best music. We did. In fact, my brother sent me a text last night saying, “Do you think we will need a new soundcard?”
Set as a sequel to the aforementioned Raiders, the Indiana Jones and The Great Circle (disclaimer, I don’t like the title) trailer takes us on a ride with Indy in mortal danger, yet still managing to headbutt a Nazi in the face. We had puzzles, running, leaping – okay we had a new Tomb Raider, but then Lara was always loosely based on Indiana Jones anyway.
The voice acting seems decent. Sure it’s not Harrison Ford, but nor is it the AI-cloned cyborg monstrosity that it could have been, with Troy Baker, famous for his role as Joel in The Last of Us, picking up the whip and doing a more than passable impersonation.
We had views of the Vatican and the Himalayas alongside jungle terrain and sunken temples. Indy is clocking up the air miles in this one and it looks the part. It looks like Indiana Jones, sounds like Indiana (mostly) Jones and we all hope it feels like Indiana Jones. Oh, and that music.
This could be the start of a new franchise of games and an opportunity for new gamers to experience the thrill I got when I first saw Raiders, but in the medium of the 2020s rather than the 1980s.
And with a release date of 2024 (vague, but still soon enough), we should not have too long to wait.
Featured Image: AI-generated by Midjourney
